Originally Posted by
phltraveler
Visa was totally impotent on this during 2021 and just basically said that they reminded the merchant acquirer to tell the merchant to be compliant, but 2023 drastically changed the picture - Visa lowered their maximum permitted surcharge to 3%, started warning merchant acquirers to tell merchants that if they're not compliant there's going to be huge fines, and updated their merchant surcharge FAQ to say that they're sending secret shoppers around to check for non-compliant surcharging and merchant acquirers could be fined $1000+ for non-compliant surcharging (which the merchant acquirer is going to pass to the merchant with fees).
Is there any documented case of a merchant getting fined for this?
If not, I think it's just talk. Visa can yell louder and louder and make threats, but I don't think they are actually going to do anything tangible about it. It's not in their interest to damage their relationship with either merchants or acquirers.